Advent Calendar Day #25 2019 vintage, bottled on 1-14-2019. This one has made an appearance in all 3 years of my advent calendar. Bourbon, oak, chocolate and roasted malts in the aroma. Taste has bourbon, chocolate, oak roasted malts and vanilla. The roasted malts and oak provide a noticeable, but inoffensive bitterness. The body is medium-full with an appropriately low amount of carbonation. At almost 3 years old, this one is still very tasty and just as I remember it being when it was first released. 4.5/5

Barrel Aged Advent Calendar Day #23 Bourbon, oak, chocolate and vanilla in the aroma. Taste has bourbon, dark chocolate, oak and vanilla, in this order. The body is medium-full, bordering on full bodied, with a lower amount of carbonation. I forgot how good this one is. They didn't do it justice when they brewed it this year, but last year's is holding up very well after almost 2 years (bottled on 1-14-2019). High 4.5/5

Barrel Aged Advent Calendar beer Day #16 2019 vintage, bottled on 1-14-2019 Bourbon, oak, chocolate and dark fruits in the aroma. Taste has bourbon, oak, dark fruits and chocolate in that order. It's always nice when a bourbon barrel aged stout picks up both the bourbon and the barrel. This is one of those. I can't wait to see how it develops in my cellar over the next few years. 4.5/5

Had this last night. Very tasty. 4.5/5

Side by side review with Bell's Barrel Aged Expedition Stout. Aroma: Bourbon, chocolate, roasted malts, dark fruits and oak. Roastier aroma. Taste: Chocolate first, immediately followed by bourbon, roasted malts, oak from the barrel aging, dark fruits and coffee notes. Lingering bitterness from the malts and oak. Huge oak in the aftertaste. Body and carbonation: Thick, mouth-coating body with a medium-ish amount of carbonation. A little bit more carbonation than I feel is appropriate for this style of beer. Overall: I like the oak presence in this one. Really shows that the beer picked up a lot of barrel character in the aging process. The bourbon is nice as well. Chocolate is tasty. Both are great and very tasty, but I think the Barrel Aged Expedition Stout takes the cake. This is outstanding and just a shade below world class. The carbonation is the only thing I would change. 4.75/5

Side by side review alongside the non bourbon barrel aged version. 2019 bottle here. Bourbon, oak, chocolate, vanilla and roasted malts in the aroma. Taste has bourbon and oak first, followed by rich dark chocolate, roasted malts, vanilla, the same hoppiness that they base beer has, just toned down a bit by the stay in the barrel. You can definitely tell this is the same base beer. Thick, rich body with a medium-low carbonation. The body isn't quite a full as the base beer, but I've heard aging beers in bourbon barrels can thin them out some. I did this side by side review to see what the similarities and differences were between the two. I prefer the bourbon barrel aged version, but both are great. Easily a 4.5/5 Bourbon and oak is getting stronger as this approaches room temperature. Vanilla is still there. Chocolate is nice, the hoppiness is appropriate for the style and the malts used remind you that this is still beer. This is edging towards a 4.75/5. Yep, I'm upgrading my score. 4.75/5

Roasted malts, chocolate, coffee, vanilla, oak and bourbon in the aroma. Taste has vanilla, oak, chocolate, bourbon, coffee and roasted malts. Perhaps some dark fruits as well. Damn this is good. All these flavors I described are very well balanced and compliment one another. I have a few ideas for future side by side reviews, but I won't give any spoilers. This was a brewery only release that sold out, so if you're not from Michigan, hopefully they'll release this in distribution in the future. Not quite world class, but outstanding. Great barrel character. 4.5/5 As this warms up more, the bourbon is becoming more prominent. So is the chocolate. Still a 4.5/5

Taste has tons of barrel character. Oak seems to be the star in the initial sip. Some bourbon, some chocolate, some hoppy bitterness and some vanilla. A lot going on and all well done. Can't wait to sit at home and analyze this beer further. 4.25/5